Red Ross
by stranger12
Summary: It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's- Red Ross
**Friends – Red Ross**

It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's- Red Ross

* * *

While it was true that Red Ross was no one's first pick for a superhero, it was impossible to deny he was the hero New York (rather unwilling, even unfortunately) had and was rather stuck with. Red Ross had been a fixture since the early 90's, and in his few and far between interviews, he expressed a deep desire to remain in the city for as long as he possibly could.

Little was known about the clumsy, sometimes even cowardly hero, except that his name was taken likely from his all red suit (which had mercifully evolved over the years to be a little less form fitting – in the early days, the NYPD had gotten more than enough complaints about that), and flaming powers. 'Ross' was speculated to be from a fallen friend, ally or family member, as no one thought the pedantic hero capable of using his own name for his crime fighting persona.

As much as it clearly pained the NYPD to admit as much, Red Ross had been very helpful in some instances. I mean, sure, in the early days, he'd put fire to places more than he actually assisted anyone, but soon enough he seemed to learn, and as the town started to warm up to him, the police had to concede he could be of use. Sometimes. Maybe.

Since the red clad hero wouldn't back down from helping, even when help was definitely not needed, the NYPD had to write up procedures on how to deal with him, in particular when he saw something wrong, usually grammatically or scientifically, and chose the middle of a battle, shootout or kidnapping situation to correct the person. That it was more often than not the criminal was besides the point for him, though he did tend to hide between the armed cops when he got shot at.

Flame as he might, Red Ross wasn't invincible as the heroes in comic books more often than not were, as the public and the police discovered several years into his crime fighting career when he got shot point blank by an avenging mother of a fallen robber and didn't get up to chase her. No, he just stumbled and coughed up blood for a few moments before anyone realized that he wasn't a wall of steel, and he actually was hurt and not just walking it off.

That day, his cowardice at times became an understandable reaction (even when it came after he annoyingly tried to shove grammar into his enemies). He was rushed to a hospital and worked on for hours on end, his mask the only thing that stayed on. His recovery was slow, but he assured the police officers who came to visit him that he would up and running in no time. When asked about whether he needed help contacting his next of kin, he closed off, and shook his head, turning his head in dismissal, though not in his usual arrogant manner, and rather in a pained, suddenly depressed way.

Perhaps there was more to Red Ross than finicky speeches at the worst times and creating huge fireballs at will. After he recuperated, most of the time at his own non–disclosed home, he came back as usual, though he was visibly wearing a heavier, thicker suit that was just a tad darker than before.

As the years passed and Red Ross cemented himself as the world's most irritating superhero, some officers came to see him with friendly eyes, and the hero could often be found eating with his friends in blue, as he called them, with a particular taste for turkey sandwiches. He wasn't that bad to hang out with when he wasn't trying to correct people, though he was absolute about hiding his personal life.

One time, he did let slip that he once had parents, a lovely sister, a best friend, a girl he adored and two other great friends, but he'd long since resigned himself to the fact that he was different, too different, and being in their lives meant putting them at risk, either from himself or the enemies he somehow managed to make along the way, so he'd walked away one day and never returned.

It was a shockingly human, solitary and depressing confession, but one he only spoke of that one time, and from then on, he ignored all questions and hints from his friends in blue to know more, to convince him to at least contact them again, but something in his hidden face became infinitely closed off and cold, and the officers wondered if in the beginning, he might've had a mishap handling himself–

They looked into old cases involving fires and related injuries but found nothing. Red Ross likely had fled before he could hurt anyone he cared about, though it only made his newfound friends all the sadder for him. The good people of New York had set up a fund for their obnoxious hero, for his costume changes, food, medical bills, etc., and though he seemed to bask in the gratitude and kind words bestowed upon him, there was always a wall there.

Red Ross was New York's one and only hero, but it seemed like that was the only life he truly had. His friends in blue started to try to include him, invite him to basketball games, hockey matches, but his lips would curl in distaste, and he never failed to gently refuse. Invitations for family meals only made him stumble upon his words, and hugs, God, those made him bolt quicker than anything. He had a soft spot for kids, and always had a kind, encouraging word for them.

All in all, Red Ross wasn't the hero New York ever asked for, and some days, he was the hero no one wanted, but no New Yorker could ever say they wished him gone from their fine city. Life would be plenty less exciting and interesting without him around, yelling about proper usage of 'whom' and fighting over which dinosaur was the best ever.

* * *

Red Ross is, after all, a very proper and funny superhero name. LOL

The sad backstory I had in mind as I wrote was that the friends (and maybe the 'rents) died and that propelled a newly powered Ross to take action.


End file.
